Latch



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEICE.l

VILIIIAM S. MERRITT, OF AUBURN, NEW YORK.

LATCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 428,938, dated March 25, 1890.

Application filed November 29, 1889. Serial No. 331,836.

To all whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, WILLIAM S. MERRITT, a citizen of the United States, residing atAuburn, in the county of Cayuga and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Door-Fastening, of which the following` is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements for fastenings for swinging or sliding doors.

The object of the present invention is to provide a fastening device for sliding or swinging doors which will be simple and inexpensive in construction, present no projections to prevent the door being entirely opened, and which will enable the door to be securely fastened by a padlock.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings,- and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a latch constructed in accordance with the invention and in position to be secured by a padlock. Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view of the locking hook and plate, the hook being shown vertical in dotted lines. Fig. 3 is a detail view ofthe keeper-plate, which is secured near the edge of the door.

Referring to the accompanying drawings by letter, A designates the base-plate of a latch or fastening which is designed to be used on sliding barn-doors or swinging housedoors and which is screwed or similarly secured to the door-j amb. .The plate A has pivoted centrally to it a locking-hook B, whose hooked end b is designed to engage akeeperplate C, which is secured near the edge of a door, and is provided with a rectangular opening c to receive the hooked end b,whereby the door is securely locked. It will thus be seen that' the door presents no objections or obstructions which will in any wise prevent it being entirely opened, which is a great advantage to sliding barn-doors in which it is desirable to use a padlock.

The plate A is provided near its end farthest from the door with an L-shaped projection. D, whose vertical arm cl is provided with an opening d', and the rear end b of the hook is provided with a horizontal loop b2, which (No model.)

receives the vertical arm CZ of the L-shaped projection, and when the door is locked and the hook B is horizontal the vertical arm d projects through the loop, and an opening d lies below the latter and is adapted to receive the shackle of a padlock to enable the door to be securely fastened.

From the foregoing it will readily be seen that fastening devices constructed in accordance with this invention are simple and cheap in construction and present no projections which will prevent the sliding door from being entirely opened, and which may be securely fastened by an ordinary padlock.

When the invention is applied to housedoors, there will then be no necessity of using the ordinary lock, as my fastening will anv swer all the purposes.

In the drawings I have shown the fastening applied to a house-door; but I do not limit the use of my invention in any respect.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim isl. Alat-ch comprising the base-plate having a projection provided with an opening, and a locking-hook pivoted to the plate and having one end adapted to engage the sliding door and the other end provided with a loop arranged to receive the projection and adapted to lie above the opening, whereby the loop may be securely retained on the projection by the padlock, substantially as described.

2. A latch comprising the base-plate A, having an L-shaped projection provided at the end of its vertical arm with an opening, and a locking-hook pivoted to the plate and having one end formed into a hook to engage a keeper-plate C and its other end provided with a loop adapted to receive the projection and lie beyond the opening when the hook is horizontal, whereby the hook may be secured in that position by a padlock, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afiixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM S. MERRITT. Witnesses:

FRED G. JONES, CHARLES HosKINs. 

